


Daises & Daffodils

by Paech



Series: marylonde family shenanigans [5]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Earth C (Homestuck), F/F, Family Bonding, Family Issues, Fluff, Human/Troll Hybrids, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Not Epilogue Compliant, Uncle-Niece Relationship, just pure fluff with maybe a sprinkle of angst, they're like 19-20 in this btw, uncle dave is best uncle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-25 19:45:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19752568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paech/pseuds/Paech
Summary: Dave spends the entire weekend with his favourite sister and her wife to relieve his mind from contemplating about his past; Knavish situations ensue, as expected.





	1. Friday

This wasn't the first time Dave appeared on their doorstep, only cladded in a wrinkly red sweater and sweat pants, his blonde hair neatly combed; contrasting his signature shades that weren't properly sitting on the bridge of his nose. 

Rose didn't question it, neither did she the first time, letting known that her door was most definitely open for Dave when he needed someone for a better understanding. Though, she couldn't deny, being confronted to each other with the other sibling's missing sweat pants was a tad awkward - and comical, on Kanaya's end.

Dave didn't need to utter a word for Rose to snake her arms around him, giving him a warm embrace before stepping aside. 

Walking inside, the feeling of tranquility blanketed around him, wrapping him in a sense of comfort and chilly temperature that created ghost bumps crawling on the skin of his arms. 

It was only six in the morning, and Dave wasn't surprised to see his usually late riser of a sister to be up at such a time; thumps sounding out from upstairs sated enough. 

Cats padded around at Dave's legs, brushing up against him and following him to the couch. The feeling of soft, silky fur underneath his fingers made Dave's posture slack, carding his fingers through the maine coon's pelt and relaxing into the revved up purrs. 

"Sorry if I interrupted you from sleeping or something." Dave said, causing a considerate smile to spread on Rose's face. 

"You're alright, I didn't have a prior engagement of importance before you arrived anyway, aside from restraining my daughter's hyperactivity." she replied, clasping her hand around her wrist.

"Do you want anything?" Rose asked, tugging at the ends of the oversized shirt she wore, no doubt belonging to her wife. "Did you eat anything before you came?"

Dave simply shrugged, the clowder on his lap only growing with each second. His thinned lips quivered as a cream colored cat nuzzled their head to his chin. He was a bit curious that Rose seemed to hold off on inquiring the reasoning to his visit to her home, but he supposed it was probably a little too early and she'd only just woken up, quite in a discourtesy manner. 

"I just ate like a poptart and some apple juice to go with it, but that's about it." Dave said, taking the opportunity to fix his shades on his face. 

"Well, if you ever feel peckish, you can always check our fridge." Rose offered, smoothing her hands down her (or, well technically Dave's) sweat pants. 

"You got any bacon?" Dave questioned, to which Rose shook her head. 

"You know we don't have amiable cooking," she responded. "However, we do have pancake mix."

"I'll make the best god damn pancakes, then," Dave concluded. "Earth C residents will be lining up at your doorstep for Strider's Famous Buttermilk Pancakes, and I'll have to abandon my music career - or maybe not actually, I can cook up raps about eating a balanced breakfast." Wait, that's been done before. 

Heavy echoing steps dragged Rose and Dave's attention to the stairway, observing as the jadeblood stalked down. In her arms, wrapped protectively, was a tiny and (finally) silent hybrid, nodding off in a haste pace. 

Kanaya immediately eyed Dave, offering a fanged smile that painted her face. 

"You're here quite early." Kanaya mused, though her tone warm. Rose gestured towards Dave with a hand. 

"I hope that's alright, darling, but it appears to be an exigency scenario." Rose said, making Kanaya shake her head to dismiss her wife's concern.

"Of course it's acceptable, Dave _is_ family foremost," Kanaya pointed, refining her hold on Lilith. "Just usually you arrive at a later scheduled time, not so ahead of the morning."

"I've came pretty early before." Dave shifted the cats off his lap, freeing space and stretching his arms slightly forward in Kanaya's direction. 

"That was once, and it was solely to borrow a cup of milk." Kanaya quirked an eyebrow, disregarding the squirms that leisurely culminated in her grasp.

"Before you start laying sick burns on me, give me lil' mothman, I wanna hold her." Dave flexed his fingers against his palms. The jadeblood obligated nonchalantly, most likely relieving herself not having to restrain Lilith and her hyper energy any longer. 

A small smile planted on his face as he rearranged Lilith in his arms. Loose, small and light gray hands clamped on Dave's red sleeved shirt, mewling quietly at the reflection of his dark shades. 

The fuzzy felt of Lilith's moth jumpsuit hit Dave's pale palms in an instant, tickling the center a tad. 

"You wouldn't believe the myriad of occasions Lilith has mistaken Roxy for you." Rose suddenly piped up, plopping down beside Dave as Kanaya ascending back to upstairs. 

He wasn't taken aback from that a scant; it was practically apart of his daily basis for an individual to trek up to him and take him for Roxy. Not even the heart-shaped shades they had began wearing assisted. And a young being like Lilith definitely was not an exception. 

Abruptly, Rose reorganized her posture, and resting her hands on her lap. She seemed bent on appearing proper and refined, despite her baggy clothes contrasting greatly and only failing her attempt on a whim. 

Judging from her changed body language, Dave had already conjured up a bulk of thought. 

"Now then, spare the stoic outlook and inform your dear sister of your repressed issues." 

There it is. 

Dave started bouncing the hybrid on his knee, as a way of distraction and excuse of keeping his line of sight away from Rose's anticipating gaze. Her stare down consistently managed to make Dave sweat and muster out the truth; whether it was designed exactly for that was beyond him. 

" _Maaaan_." Dave drawled out, mingled with a tinge of a groan, prompting a smirk to plaster on Rose's face. 

Wasn't that the whole reason Dave was there in the beginning? To discuss his horrid childhood and receive emotional support from his sister? 

Now that he was here and present, he held his tongue back, throat closing as his red gaze sharpened on the antenna hoodie of Lilith's pyjamas. When Dave gambled and finally turned his head towards Rose, her face had creased into something more patient - a tender expression that Dave usually saw when she stared at her daughter.

"If it deals with romantic subjects, I can easily advise." 

Dave choked out a snort, his leg coming to a cease. "Right, because if I need canoodling lessons, Rose "disaster lesbian" Lalonde will school the shit out of me and teach me how to make a slip n slide with my palms as I try to reach for some pretty girl's hand."

Rose furrowed her eyebrows in offense. " _Please_ , Strider, I can confidently say I've came far - I made that." she jabbed a finger at Lilith, probing another chuckle from her brother. 

"Yeah and before you made that, you thought her other mother peppering kisses all over your face was just a friendly greeting." Dave countered, snickering lowly at the embarrassed flush on Rose's face. 

Before Rose could manifest a sharp comment, Dave sloppily handed Lilith over to her mother, jumping up and making a beeline to the bathroom. 

"I gotta take a leak, hold on." 

Switching on the lights, the first thing Dave spotted was the weirdly amounts of hard soap placed on the sink; or, well, weird as in ' _one orange colored bottle that's orange cream scented, another bottle that's tropical fruit scented, then lastly a child's hand soap_ '

The first two must've Rose and Kanaya's respective favourite scents, otherwise why else buy an extra. 

He continued to examine the sink, running the pads of his fingers across the cold marbled surface. Surely Lilith didn't her own exclusive hand wash.

' _Wait, what the hell am I doin' getting this invested in hand wash_ '

Grasping ahold of the children's hand wash, Dave inspected the bottle closer. The liquid inside was clear as day, and looking at the label he found out why; sea aroma or something similar, what with the fishes printed. 

If his memory served him right, Dave was familiar with the hand wash. Dave couldn't even reach the sink, had to use a stool, and the first thing he'd grab was the hand wash with fishes printed and slightly scratched. 

Dave grimaced - not now. 

~

" _OW!_ "

Rose jolted up at the loud and abrupt yelp, prompting the blonde to swing her head towards her wife, her ring finger tucked away in her mouth and between her canines. 

"Is everything alright, Kanaya?" Rose piqued a brow, dropping the book in her hands as her purple orbs focused intently on Kanaya and Lilith. 

Kanaya nodded swiftly, removing her finger and sucking in a harsh breath. She frowned, openly and widely, at the sounds of bubbly giggles from her daughter. 

"Lilith bit me," Kanaya said gruffly. "She won't eat."

Rose hummed lightly, crossing the kitchen and meeting eye contact with Lilith. She didn't seem sick with any illness, and a press of her hand to Lilith's forehead confirmed it. 

Rose pursed her lips thoughtfully; she usually never skipped on a meal. 

"Here, give me." Rose held out her hand to her wife, a cube of cooked meat plopping into her palm. The blonde brought the meat piece tantalizingly close to her daughter's mouth, waiting patiently for her to open her maw. 

Lilith only stared blankly at it, then shifted her jade green orbs to Rose and keeping her unprompting. A strange look formed on Rose's face, urging the meat cube to her lips, only to be met with a reprimand as Lilith turned her head away. 

Rose groaned lowly, pinching the cooked meat a little tighter between her fingers. 

"S'up." 

Rose whipped her head behind her, met with the sight of Dave entering the kitchen floor with his hands buried in his pockets. 

Lilith squirmed in her seat suddenly, gnawing on her lower lip by digging her tiny fang into it in concentration. 

"Uncie Dave!" Lilith shouted, her legs kicking into Rose's arms rapidly.

Dave cracked a grin, maneuvering past Rose and heaving her out of the highchair. 

"You want your rad uncle Dave?" he patted her back, coos emitting from his hybrid niece. "Yeah, your moms are boring, huh? Uncle Dave is _much_ cooler because he gives you cookies and other sugary stuff when he shouldn't."

Rose frowned upon him, making the blond quickly saunter out from the kitchen with Lilith. Rose let out a tiny huff, leaning her weight on the counter with a slight glare. 

"I wonder if she'd listen to _him_ to get her to eat." she muttered to Kanaya, to which the jadeblood nodded sagely. 

In the living room, Dave seated Lilith on the floor, locking a hand to her side as she tried reaching her small arm across to pet a kitten a few inches away. 

Dave examined around the area. "Where are your toys at?" he mused out loud, enough for the other two in the house to hear. 

"They're in the corner - in a grand plastic bin." Kanaya called out. 

Dave picked himself up, striding over to the corner of the couch and finding exactly what Kanaya described; a plastic white bin with different kinds of toys brimming in it. 

Dropping to his knees, Dave shuffled through the bin, pulling out the Signless plushie Karkat had gifted Lilith on her first birthday, then putting it aside and diving into the bin once more. 

The bin, apparently, mostly had stuffed animals - the quantity of cat dolls in different sizes and species piling up beside him. She must've loved cats (obviously), because only a handful of them weren't felines. 

Out of the blue, instead of smooth fur-like cotton, his hand came into contact with foam material, making his eyebrows rise in surprise and his grasp immediately squishing it. 

Dave wasted no time in drawing out the toy. A foam katana appeared from the sea of stuffed toys, a smile trekking on Dave's features as he threw his head back and rose his voice. 

"Yo, did Dirk get this fake katana for her?" Dave called out, earning only a clear of someone's throat. Rose stood an inch behind him, her arms crossed. 

"You don't need to shout, Dave, I'm currently in your earshot," Rose said, a playful smirking plying her lips. "and no, as surprising it may seem, Jasprose purchased it for her." 

There was a trail of agitation in Rose's tone, as she sat down on the couch. 

Dave's mouth shifted into an 'o' shape, setting his eyes back down on the foam katana and going ahead to fully heave it out from the bin. What he didn't account on, was the red plushed item that linked its hand to the katana, dangling in the air and in front of Dave. 

Rose widened her eyes, hovering a hand slightly off from the couch's armrest. An uncomfortable dry sensation settled hastily in Dave's mouth, his stomach churning and the questionable look in his red eyes blocked from view because of his shades - it didn't matter, anyway, because without his shades his expression most likely could still be unreadable. 

' _A fucking smuppet.'_

"Dave I - I have no profitable explanation how _that_ managed to end up there, I didn't even know it was stored in our house." Rose was quick to reply, clueless and not recalling the memory of Lilith ever taking it out and playing with it. She shouldn't even have that in her bin, first and foremost. 

Dave arrived at Rose and Kanaya's house to relax his mind - he always was able to, that's why he even left his own house and didn't dump his problems on Karkat, like the past scenarios. He didn't want to burden his boyfriend with worries. 

In a swift movement, Dave tugged off the smuppet and flopped the plushie onto the surface of toys. He hesitated for a moment, going ahead and burying the thing deep into the bin.

Thank goodness it was just static radiating that connected the two items, he already took a liking to the fake child sword. 

Lilith's babble - which was quite loud - broke the minute period of silence. Rose's hand still hovered on the couch, confused and unsure if she should latch a comforting hand to her brother's shoulder. 

Rose slid off the soft orange couch, lifting Lilith into her arms and staring keenly at Dave. 

"Ah, Dave, I know you've only just arrived not too long ago but perhaps it'd be best for you to make your trip back home and rest," Rose started, grimacing a tad. "I'll be sure to get rid of -"

"Nah." 

Rose jumped lightly at Dave's sudden response, a word forming on her tongue but trembling down when he spoke up once more. 

"I mean, uh, it's no biggie, just uh," Dave muttered, heaving onto his feet and twisting the foam sword around in his hand. He put a bit more thought into his words, his free hand coming up to his glasses in an absent minded manner. 

Going back home didn't seem like a pleasant development, Dave felt gravitated to the district of the home. Luxuriated idleness coated his senses - perhaps it was the less stressful and yet calming activity there was culminating. After all, Karkat was the one that pushed him to visit Rose, in hopes for his mind to ease. 

"Rose, if I'm being frank, I don't really feel the need to go home." Dave said softly, now facing Rose and catching her perplexed expression. 

"What? That's, not exactly a well -"

"Is it alright if I bunk with you guys, I mean?" Dave interrupted, pausing for a moment before rushing on. "Like, not permanently, obviously, I don't think Karkat would approve of me moving out from the house but for... maybe three days should be fine."

Rose quirked her brow, a cool hand curling on her shoulder meanwhile and perking her head up. 

A reassuring smile rested on Kanaya's face, giving Rose's shoulder a squeeze before speaking up. 

"By all means, Dave, you're welcome to staying over at our home if it's truly something you desire." Kanaya said, then her smile faltered as her expression creased into something akin to concern. "But please, inform Karkat first. He won't take it lightly of you forgetting to message him about spending time here."

Dave snapped his fingers at the reminder and nodded silently, quickly fishing out his phone from the sweat pant's deep and crumb littered pockets to send a text to Karkat of his stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be taking a mini hiatus from Next of Flighty Broad, mainly bc I wanna work on my splat fic. It'll most likely be back around in October tho, meanwhile the idea of this fic popped up in my head and I couldn't resist writing it.  
> Also here's another art piece I commissioned (bc I have no control) and I'm absolutely fawning over it!! artist is caruleanfox on tumblr  
> 


	2. Saturday

The soft, melodic chirps of birds from the outside in the morning dew made Dave stir leisurely on the couch, the fluffy blanket he was provided the night prior now on the brink of falling off the orange couch. 

Sunlight managed to filter and shine directly on the living room, heating up the blond's sealed eyelids before he sluggishly reached for his shades. 

With being almost awake, Dave opted to lay still on the couch, feeling a bit too tired to get up and move around on his feet. Flying didn't seem enticing either. 

For a second, he nearly forgot he was staying over at Rose's house. When his eyes registered and he scanned the area, he was taken aback and bewildered at the sight of a lone Lilith sitting in the center. Did she always rise up this early?

She was supposedly occupied with the cat in front of her, placing the customized cat doll Rose had knitted for her on the furry underside of the feline. When Dave shifted to perk himself up on his elbow, Lilith turned her head, a joyful grin curling on her face in a matter of seconds. 

Thuds resonated from the stairway, garnering both Dave and Lilith's attention. Kanaya came padding down, frantically, though soon halting in her tracks like a deer caught in silvery headlights. 

Kanaya furrowed, taking the last step and swiping Lilith into her arms. "Lily, would you please stop your habit of climbing out from your crib? You could get severely hurt and it puts stress on my shoulders, you little imp." 

Curiosity bubbled up in Dave, the act of escaping crib bars reeling in a memory. When he was roughly around Lilith's age or younger, he'd singlehandedly pull himself out of the crib during the night as well; Dave only stopped doing so after he broke his leg when misplacing a step down on the wood and causing a slip up, or so that's what he told him. 

"I'm sorry if she woke you," Kanaya apologized. Dave shook his head responsively, leisurely getting into a seating position and stretching out his limbs. 

"I can see she's an early bird like you, must be hell for Rose." Dave chuckled, maneuvering the blanket off of him. A smile grazed Kanaya, nodding her head as she exhaled a small sigh. 

"Oh, it definitely is a pain for Rose," Kanaya said fondly. "but it's also troublesome for my own being, as I am the one that wakes up early as well so I'd have to retain her hectic behavior by myself for the full hours of the morning."

Dave hummed, then slinked onto his feet and followed Kanaya into the kitchen. 

Opening the fridge and taking out a gallon of milk, Dave reached his arm upwards on the top of the fridge and retrieved a cookie cereal. 

Meanwhile, Kanaya began unsealing a container of mashed carrots that was stocked inside the microwave, to save and bask in the warmth radiating inside from last night. 

Setting Lilith on one of the diner chairs, Kanaya sat next to her, placing the container in front of her and diving a parakeet green spoon into the orange mash. 

"Open your mouth, Lilith," Kanaya said, after swirling the mashed carrots around for a short period and hovering it near her daughter to eat. 

Lilith scrunched up, using her hand to push the spoon away. 

Kanaya puffed up her cheeks in agitation. "Darling, you barely consumed any nutritions yesterday, you have to eat." 

Her attempt was rejected again, as Dave observed from the counter with his cereal bowl. 

"Maybe she's sick?" Dave shrugged, gaining a shake of the jadeblood's head. 

"I don't think so, whenever she's ill she's generally fussy." Kanaya shot down his suggestion, looking frustrated. "Eat it, Lilith, just do it for me."

"Mama, no." Lilith replied, making Kanaya groan. Taking another spoonful of cereal into his mouth, Dave emitted a noise to garner Kanaya's attention, it doing efficiently just that. 

"You know that's not how you baby talk to little kids, right?" Dave pointed his spoon at her direction, droplets of milk sticking onto the silver metal before gradually dipping down. 

This queued Kanaya to arch an eyebrow, shoveling more carrot mash onto the plastic spoon and keeping her hand below it, in case of spills. 

"Whatever do you mean? Surely this must be sarcasm, because I've effectively managed to communicate with mine and Rose's daughter for the past year," Kanaya told him, looking suspiciously at her brother-in-law. 

Dave waved a hand as a dismissal, flash-stepping to the table and placing his bowl onto the wooden furniture. "Yeah, well you see, one year olds have different communication methods, they're not at all into that verbose chat you keep giving her."

Dave walked around the table, sitting beside Lilith and across from Kanaya, signaling to Kanaya for the spoon. Kanaya hesitated momentarily, shrugging her shoulders subtly then handing Dave the utensil. 

"One year olds are more interested in this," Dave started, swirling the orange mash around for a second, heaving it out of the container and urging it towards Lilith. " _What's up_ , Lily, uncle Dave here, coming at you with mashed up carrots that kinda look unappealing but it's good for you." 

Kanaya glanced at him strangely, baffled, then grimacing when Lilith obliged and ate for once. 

"What - how is talking in an optimistic tone -" Kanaya sputtered, Dave interrupting her when he handed her back the spoon. 

"Rose didn't tell you?" Dave raised an eyebrow behind his shades, leaning into his seat. "Babies love it when you talk to them like those influencers." 

Another questioning expression painted Kanaya's face. "A what?" 

"Y'know, those youtubers that have a huge following of kids?" Dave explained, only probing the perplexed look on the jadeblood. Dave just shrugged, signaling for her to continue. "Look, just try it."

Kanaya faltered, leveling the spoon to her daughter's mouth after scraping up some of the mash. A defeated sigh escaped when she made eye contact with Dave for confirmation. 

"What's up, Lilith, your mother is here to bring you a healthy breakfast to assist your growth and eyesight," Kanaya brought the spoon closer to Lilith. "so now please eat." 

Without a moment wasted, Lilith went ahead and grabbed the handle, eating the orange mushed up bits as a bewildered yet relieved smile taped itself on Kanaya's features. 

"Perhaps Rose is right, she really does listen to you thoroughly." Kanaya commented, earning a lighthearted grin to come tugging at the corner of Dave's lip. 

Suddenly, steps echoed throughout the house, Rose emerging from the stairway with an urgent type of aura. The blonde made her way to the other company residing in the home, phone clasped in her hand as she raised it up for her wife to glimpse. 

"Kanaya, we need to make an immediate trip to the caverns, it's hectically being handled and it _very_ much requires our presence and assistance." Rose detailed, prompting Kanaya to jump from her seat, but then pause her movements quite forcibly. 

She swiveled her head towards Dave, putting a hand to Lilith's inky black hair. "Could you please watch Lilith while we go take care of the caverns?" 

Dave nodded lazily at her, Kanaya giving him a reassured smile before ruffling Lilith's hair, then trailing behind Rose as they quickly gathered necessities for the cavern, not wasting a minute once they were out the door. Abruptly, Rose peered back in, forming a creek of the door, looking sternly at Dave.

"And absolutely no sweets, Dave." Rose reminded, making the blond nod his head rapidly and urging Rose to leave the house with a free hand.

Once she was out, completely, Dave shot up from his seat, sauntering towards the cabinets. He examined them thoroughly, before he reached up and dragged out a family sized bag of animal circus cookies. Rebellious.

***

Tiny hands swiped harshly at the side of Dave's face, alerting the blond and reeling him out of his nap on the couch, shifting his head a tad to see a distressed look on his niece.

Dave dropped the cookie bag from his stomach to the floor, leaving his shades slightly askew. 

"What's up, mothman?" Dave muttered out, a string of insistent and urgent 'm's leaving Lilith. She tugged at his sleeve, trying to beckon him to follow her. 

Dave switched into something akin to confusion, going ahead and leisurely sliding off the couch, his hand being firmly held in Lilith's as she led him to the halls. 

There, Dave spotted the once beautifully painted vase, baring an array of flourished flowers, splattered and broken on the ground, bits and pieces scattered and a dangerous hazard to Lilith. 

Dave shooed her back, a profanity slipping under his breath. 

"Fuct!" Lilith yelped behind him, issuing a light yet stern shush. Dave stared blankly at the mess, puddles of water shining and noticeable even with his shades intact. 

Surely, it wasn't going to be another hour until Rose and Kanaya arrived back home; going off from how earnest Rose sounded, a brawl most likely occurred. He'd be able to clean up the mess quite easily, but it doesn't solve the problem with a missing vase of flowers that Kanaya must've handpicked from her garden. Dave emitted a clamorous hum, shifting his body to look back and down at Lilith. 

"Wanna go to the store real quick?" Dave lowered on to his knees, chucking a thumb to the mess on the floor. "After I clean that up, of course." Before any of the Marylonde cats trekked over to the water puddle and suddenly receive a shard puncture to their sensitive paw pads. 

After hurrying to sweep up the shard pieces, then slapping a towel above the water pool to soak up the liquids while they were out, Dave latched his hand to Lilith's as they walked to the closest Home Depot. Entering the building, Lilith gazed around the wide area with immense awe, tempted to let go of her uncle's hand to explore the depths of the department, Dave kept his hold firm. He wasn't going to risk losing Lilith in the store, Rose and Kanaya would surely feed him to the horrorterrors, then move apart Earth C in search just for her.

Honestly, Rose and Kanaya were the most utterly caring and affectionate parents he'd witness, he was surprised they hadn't decided on giving Lilith a sibling yet. Yes, she barely had turned one just a few months ago, though he couldn't doubt Kanaya's baby fever flaring up soon enough, perhaps once they enrolled in school. 

Waving through areas of furniture and painting supplies, Dave and Lilith finally arrived to the vase compartment, the blond breathing out a sigh of relief. 

"For a minute, I thought we were lost there," Dave whistled, his eyes trailing up the shelves of flower vases, each with different sizes and colors and designs - aha! Red eyes fell upon a minty green coated vase, blooms of painted roses patterning around the glass. 

Unfortunately, Dave noted, was the high space it was on; he'd have to use his the flying power his god tier gifted him. Momentarily, Dave unconnected his hand from Lilith's - there wasn't anyway he'd be able to balance a squirmy one year old and a delicate vase. 

"Stay put, okay? I just need to get that vase real quick." Dave said, slowly moving an inch off the ground, Lilith being the limelight of his supervision until he confirmed she wouldn't run off. 

Floating idly to the high top of the white shelf, Dave cautiously shuffled through the vases, finger tips graciously sliding around the needed vase. Tucking the item safely into his left arm, Dave glanced down, fully anticipating to see the hybrid lingering in her place. 

Except she wasn't. 

Dave nearly dropped the vase, startled beyond belief, breathing in heavily once the fragile item was protectively in his steady hold again. He glanced down once more, biting his lip. 

' _Fuck, Rose and Kanaya are not gonna hesitate to split me in half._ ' Dave thought to himself, his shoes kissing the ground and soon dashing throughout the section. He whipped his head around wildly, trying to search for the feisty hybrid Rose and Kanaya treasured more than anything. 

' _It'd be understandable if they don't trust me watching her anymore, like shit_ '

Dave sprinted across the store, calling out Lilith's name whenever he reached a new section of furniture. Dave made sure to keep a hand below the vase, so it wouldn't clatter to the ground as he strided through the building. 

' _I'm worse than Bro, I can't even keep a kid from getting lost in the store_ '

At least he never managed to lose Dave in grocery stores. 

High pitched laughter caused Dave to halt his steps entirely; the abrupt pause almost making him lose his stance and the vase to slip. 

Gripping the item tightly, his heart skipping a beat when he took a few steps forward, a multitude of couches and backyard tables came into view, a very familiar small figure cladded in moth pyjamas she favoured the most having a seat on a leather cushion. 

Dave clicked his tongue, hurrying to Lilith and hefting her off of the couch. He couldn't bunch up his frustrations and worries into a bag, it'd definitely cause a tear. 

***

Carefully moving the damp towel from the now dry floor, the blond rolled up the cloth and set it at his side, placing the purchased vase on the charcoal stand, then taking a step back to survey it. 

"There, doesn't look like we broke anything at all," Dave noted, sniffing. "Now all I need is just the flowers..." he swung his head towards the living room. 

Where _was_ Lilith with the flowers? It already passed a good half an hour that Dave sent her to go collect flowers from Kanaya's garden as a punishment for running off. 

Dave hummed thoughtfully, deciding to check for himself. Trudging towards the sliding door and opening it, a fresh breeze blew past his face, sprays of different colored flowers blooming in the backyard. 

Lilith was there, thankfully, with enough flowers piled up beside her - but no wonder she hadn't shown up yet! She seemed occupied with digging a hole next to flowerbed. 

Dave sucked in a sharp breath, flash-stepping out and retrieving Lilith into his arms. 

"No hole digs, Lily, your moms might get suspicious." Dave said, setting her on the grass and gathering the flowers she picked. 

"I help." Lilith stated. Dave only looked at her quizzically, before leading her into the house. 

Once the flower stems were washed an tossed into the fragile vessel, Dave collapsed on the couch, his energy feeling bled out dry.

***

Lilith watched the television screen intently, sitting atop on Dave's back as he laid flat against his stomach, his nose buried into his sleeve. Sounds of the film the hybrid was watching, The Little Mermaid, filled his ears and managed to sway him to a drowsy state. 

Lilith slapped her cat doll on his bleach hair, emitting loud noises and a litany of 'uncie Dave's to catch his attention, wanting him to look at the display on the screen. 

This must've been her favourite movie; Dave wondered about the myriad times she probably forced her mothers to watch it with her, or perhaps one of their cats. His eyelids began slipping closed, feeling Lilith's chin press into his head in interest at the TV, and soon enough, the blond fell into the throes of slumber.

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is @paechwrites


End file.
